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Writer – Robert Kanigher
Artist – Russ Heath

Time for a little rest and relaxation and what better way than seeing the latest attraction in town, a strange creature akin to a mermaid being half man and half fish. The Sea Devils have a good time and Biff decides to take up the challenge issued by the carny running the show, to battle and defeat the creature for fifty grand. As it turns out, Biff cannot complete the task but he learns that the merman is in fact quite real and requires help. As it turns out, the fish-man is looking to rescue his girlfriend from the clutches of a giant beneath a graveyard of sunken ships, a task that is all but impossible. Thankfully the merman named Nurro has the Sea Devils with him and because of that, his odds have gotten exponentially better. Once again, the creative team of Robert Kanigher and Russ Heath give readers a most fantastical yarn and it is one of the best to appear in the title as of yet. They inject a lot of whimsy and adventure into this tale and it comes through on every page thanks to Heath’s incredible pencils. As one might guess, the giant does prove to be a formidable foe and the Devils start to fare no better than Nurro did during his first encounter. Dane tries his hand first and heads down to face off against the giant. When Dane returns, he is half-shark and half-man. Biff is the next and returns half-manta while Judy becomes a mermaid. Finally, Nicky heads in and is not only the last to try his hand at it, he is also the last to fall becoming half-seahorse himself. The situation is grim but one can never count the Sea Devils out and soon enough, they are working in tandem again, almost as if they were their former selves and the monster who changed them into the strangest of creatures is defeated and all is well that ends well. Some might find all of these stories a little juvenile in nature and that might be true, but one has to remember that comic books were written for kids of all ages, not simply for the grown man or woman. So despite perhaps featuring the odd little thing that might be a little silly, on the whole Kanigher and company make these books highly enjoyable, packed with action and drama and at least in this title specifically, family. There is a lot to love in this title and when it comes to the eighth issue which this happens to be, it is definitely one of the best yet.

4 out of 5